PolishLinux reviews PCLinuxOS 2007. "I must admit I am impressed by PCLinuxOS. And according to the distro slogan, which includes the two words 'radically simple', installation and configuration of the system is really easy, and the system is very friendly in everyday usage. Some of this 'radical simplicity' should be credited to hammered out details, and the system's elegant appearance (although this is a matter of individual taste). Regular users will find in PCLinuxOS everything they need 'out of the box'. Thanks to the consistency and the possibilities to configure the system with graphical tools (e.g. PCLinuxOS Control Center) this distro is close to ideal for those starting their adventure with Linux systems and migrating from Microsoft Windows systems."

"Like I said, that is where I gave up on PCLinuxOS. Something as trivial as opening a file browser should have worked.
I didn't go to try and fix it, I didn't go into a file browser manually and find the .exe file."

So you ditched a whole distro that ran fine for you because of THIS? Incredible. All you need to do is set file associations with 'Open with' dialogue, something one frequently has to do in Windows as well (for example if you care about which one of all the media players there opens a specific file format). And in KDE it even looks the same and is JUST AS EASY.
I guess the whole GNU/Linux is for experts is true, if some people can't even be bothered to do even the most basic of tasks and then complain 'it' doesn't work. There's no fix for sheer laziness.